Ever since this past weekend at our Camp Mabuhay experience, it's like Jay-R has internalized in his mind that it's okay to use Tagalog again. During the camp, he looked at me and said, "Jay-R's Filipino." (The other day, he had told us he wasn't Filipino, wasn't American, but was a dog...the words out of children's mouths!) Kory and I just had a discussion a week or so ago whether Jay-R still knew and understood his Tagalog since he refused to use it. We were discussing this in the context of if we decide to adopt again, would Jay-R be able to help with understanding the child when we first meet him or her? (For those of you wondering, we have not made a decision regarding whether we will add more children to our family-we're open to whatever God calls us to do).
Tonight, Jay-R and I were reading "Filipino Friends." It's a great little story about a boy who returns to the Philippines to live. It's written in English but it has many pictures all labeled in both Tagalog and English. Jay-R pointed to many of the pictures and told us the Tagalog words for them. He commented, "It's Tagalog." We have never ever discouraged him from using his Tagalog. In fact, we have tried to encourage him by watching youtube videos, having conversations with Filipino people we know, and asking him for the words in Tagalog. It's like he had decided he didn't want to be different. I think that spending time at Camp Mahubay made him realize it's okay to be Filipino in his new home. When I first opened the book tonight, he said, "They're Filipino, like me."
Our goal as Jay-R's parents is to not only help him integrate into American culture but to keep his Filipino culture alive for him. This is a vital part of who he is and is important to him in helping to create his sense of identity. Food is important in this, too. I need to make some pancuit for him and Filipino spaghetti complete with banana ketchup and hotdogs like we had at the orphange. I found a good recipe for anyone that's interested:
http://visualrecipes.com/recipe-details/recipe_id/506/Filipino-Style-Spaghetti/
So again, for so many reasons, our experience at camp was great. There are longer Filipino heritage camps in Maryland and Colorado we may consider attending as he gets older.
So for now..."Mabuhay"...long live!
6 comments:
Wow! The heritage camp must have been a wonderful experience. Thanks for sharing your pictures. We also have the Filipino Friends book and actually, I kind of bought it for me so I could pick up some tagalog. I am not real sure how much Levi will have picked up on yet.
I am also going to look at the recipe you posted. I need to start making a few more Filipino inspired dishes. However, I think Levi is pretty much still on a bottle and eats foods like oatmeal with stewed apples. Maybe I should just focus on learning how to fix stewed apples. Ha!
Mom you get right on with making those Philipines recipes don't forget hotdogs in the spaghetti!(That's the best part.) When Jay-R wakes up in the morning tell him he is the Language teacher!
The one and only,
Ate` Ashleigh!
See you all tomorrow
Thanks so much for the link and the suggestion of the book. We don't have the book, but I'll get right on that. We are going to be in the same boat as you when we get Shella May home since she is older and I appreciate everything you share with us to make our journey easier.
I have also bought the Filipino Friends book. It seems like a great little book and I look forward to the day that I can share it with our child.
It is great that Jay-R is feeling more comfortable with his heritage and that he is speaking some Tagalog. I would like to try some of those recipes as well but my husband is not at all adventurous. I think that I'll give them a try anyways! Thanks.
That's so cool! He must have been working those things out in his mind. You have a very perceptive little boy there. My daughter enjoys that book, too, particularly the pages on food and the bahay kubo song :-)
That is so cool that they make camps like that one!!!! I bet that made him feel at home. Im thinking of adopting from kenya and guadamala and or china( when im older im not even 18!) But if you guys could explain on one of your blog posts how the prosses goes!!! Im a little confused on that part.
Keep up the GREAT WORK!!!!
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